E-Commerce Task Force
In the fall of 2007, the State Controller formed an E-Commerce Task Force. The task force was formed as the result of a special provision contained in the 2007 Appropriations Act.
SECTION 6.14 of the 2007 Appropriations Act states the following:
The Office of the State Controller shall evaluate the opportunities for efficiencies in State government through the use of electronic commerce as it relates to both disbursement and collection of funds, and shall report the results of that evaluation to the 2008 Regular Session of the 2007 General Assembly. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) Input from the entire State government user base, including State agencies, universities, community colleges, local education agencies, and other units of government that may be disbursing or collecting State funds. Input is also to be obtained from the various central agencies involved in the financial affairs of State government and from the Office of Information Technology.
(2) Specific proposals that would, if implemented, expand electronic commerce activity in the State government fiscal environment, and which shall include the establishment of an ongoing function within State government to execute the expansion. The recommendations should address activities that are suitable for statewide contractual arrangements, as well as those suitable for governmental entities to pursue individually. The recommendations should include expected costs and benefits of these implementations; recommendations for funding recurring and nonrecurring costs of the specific proposals; and a business case to support the recommendations.
(3) Proposed legislation that may be considered by the 2008 Regular Session of the 2007 General Assembly to ensure compliance with merchant card industry policies and standards for operations and security.
(4) Proposed legislation that may be considered by the 2008 Regular Session of the 2007 General Assembly that addresses any inconsistencies or conflicts in existing statutes relating to electronic commerce activities.
Periodic updates on this activity may be requested by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. The final report is due no later than April 30, 2008.
E-Commerce Task Force Report
The provision required the Office of the State Controller to acquire input from various sectors of state government. This input was acquired by two primary means: 1) the creation of a statewide Task Force representing the various government sectors; and 2) the soliciting of input from the component entities of each sector via a comprehensive survey.
The full report submitted to the General Assembly on April 30, 2008 may be viewed below: